The Moment Everything Changed
by Night-Wisdow
Summary: Scar's plan was running all too well. The stampede was meant for killing both his brother and his nephew. Though Mufasa was able to get Simba out, he now finds himself at the mercy of his brother. However, something happens at this critical moment, something that wasn't part of the plan. What happened to Scar...?
1. Power of a Single Decision

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Lion King or any of its characters**

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**Chapter one: Power of a Single Decision**

The plan was going fine, everything running as smoothly as it could. The hyenas had done their part and made a road crushing stampede. Simba was exactly as he should have been at the time, and Scar was actually grateful for him being a reasonably smart kid, that plan would never work if he died right away, it could actually be exhaustive finding another plan to kill Mufasa, not to mention it could bring up difficult questions about what the cub was doing there in the first place.

However, that wasn't the problem there, everything was spectacularly fine. Though Mufasa was able to get Simba away from the wildebeests, he seemed to be having trouble to get out himself. Soon as he rested his son over a rocky step, a pair of horns took him away.

"Dad!" Simba shouted, looking desperately for his father. It took a few seconds that seemed like ages 'till the great lion king could actually manage to jump and cling onto the rocks at the side of the gorge. Intending to help, Simba quickly started climbing towards the top.

However, at the perfect spot at the moment, was Scar. That was everything he needed, exactly how he had planned, even better still, he had Mufasa at his paws now, and could actually watch delighted as he tried to climb up, hurt and weak from the attempts to save his little annoying offspring. The lion king looked up, finding his brother prostrated at the top of the gorge wearing a careless expression.

"Scar! Brother… Help me…" he pleaded.

That couldn't be more delightful, and the only thing Scar could think was 'Not so cocky now huh?'. It had finally come his time, with Mufasa out of the way, dealing with the cub would be a simple matter. He could finally ascend and gain everything he ever wanted, all the power he ever dreamed of.

He bared his claws out, oh it was so simple, all it would take was a little push… However… Strangely enough… He hesitated.

'Why?' Scar kept wondering. It was his plan, it was his chance, it was the chance of a lifetime, everything he had worked so hard to gain 'till this moment. Yes, it was easy, all so simple now, so why the trouble? Why hesitate…?

"Scar!" Mufasa begged once more, sliding down, knowing he wasn't gonna be able to hang on for so long.

At first, he looked really pathetic to his brother, but without knowing the reason, stupid memories of themselves during their childhood stomped between Scar and his ambition. That rage and jealous of his brother suddenly turned to pity, which was just as ridiculous, however, it held the power to prevent him from going onwards.

Mufasa was tired, he was hurt and his whole body seemed like shattering, he felt his strength finally fading away, and his last seconds slip by as he remembered his family, his wife and son he was never going to be able to return to. Not able to hold any longer, his claws fell loose, but at the last possible moment, a dark fur paw reached and grab hold of him. Ignoring everything he had planned, Scar reached out to his brother and held him, preventing him from falling, and making the peak of his efforts to pull a big lion like Mufasa up with his slim and frail body, he could finally bring his brother safely to the summit.

Mufasa desperately gasped for air once he was finally safe, Scar as well, after all it wasn't easy pulling up a lion as big as his brother up. That brotherly feeling had gotten the best of him at the most crucial moment of his life, and as the last wildebeest fled away, he rubbed his head in disappointment.

"I must be getting out of my mind…" he mumbled to himself.

"Dad!" Simba came rushing towards his father, nuzzling him for a while to ease his feelings. Almost losing his father like that had really give him a scare "Dad…"

"Simba… Are you alright?" Mufasa asked, hugging his son.

"Yeah. I'm sorry dad… I'm so sorry…"

"It's alright, everything's alright. Come here" he pulled his son closer to give him a warm hug. Scar looked back at the scene disgusted. The king and his successor were both alive in the end, nothing like he had planned. He intended to go away, but…

"Scar…" Mufasa called, the dark mane lion stopped and gazed back at his brother, who stared back warmly as he only ever did when they were kids "Thank you…"

"Yeah… Sure…" he replied, annoyed.

"Come on uncle Scar, we gotta get dad back to Pride Rock"

"Oh yeah… It slipped my mind for a second…" he answered sarcastically, and as if it wasn't bad enough that complete failure due to his own doing, he even had to carry his nasty brother all the way back…

Finally back home, Scar drew way too much attention just by arriving with his brother on his back, and as he let Mufasa down on the rock, the lionesses quickly gathered. Sarabi was the first one to arrive "Oh my god…"

"Mom!" Simba called, and his mother quickly hugged him, turning her attention to her husband immediately.

"What happened?"

"There was a stampede! Dad tried to save me…! I didn't… I didn't mean to…"

"Mufasa… Darling…" she desperately called her husband, who mumbled weakly on the ground "Quick! Someone go get Rafiki! Where's Zazu!"

"I'll go!" Sarafina, Nala's mother, promptly volunteered, dashing away into the savannah. Scar, looking at his brother once again receiving all the attention, decided to ignore all that and go away, he knew he wouldn't be missed…

"Simba!" Nala called from the middle of the crowd, rushing towards his friend "Are you ok? What happened?"

"A stampede… My dad…" but before he could finish, he could catch a glimpse of his uncle's back, turning away "Hold on a second" he told his friend, running up to his uncle "Uncle Scar, wait up!"

"And just what…?" Scar began, but before he could finish, his nephew was already hugging his leg "Oh… Great… That's just cute…" he mumbled, annoyed. Or was he…? Simba, unaware of that last comment, just smiled towards his uncle.

"Thanks uncle Scar… I don't know what would've happened if you weren't there… Thanks for saving my dad…"

"Sure…" he answered disgusted "I gotta get going now, there are a lot of rocks I need to bash my head into…"

Simba giggled, not really understanding the joke, but his uncle had always been a bit strange, and besides, his gratefulness was such that he didn't really care about Scar's poor attitude.

Scar returned to the elephant graveyard, where he laid down along with something of a headache, and the disappointment of losing the closest chance he ever got of being king. The hyenas, having already returned, approached him.

"I don't understand…" Banzai commented "We went through all of that trouble so we could finally run this joint, and you, who was the one who came up with the idea of killing Mufasa, backed out?"

"Shut up…" Scar ordered, with no patience once or ever to put up with their subordinates lowsy comments.

"We're just a bit confused here Scar" Shenzi continued "Why would you help the king? You know we could have handled the cub…"

"This has really been a bad day, and I really wished you idiots would stop asking so many questions…"

"We just want to be sure of what we're doing here" Shenzi kept going "After all, we just tried to kill the king and his son and failed. What would happen if they found out?"

Without any more patience, Scar grabbed her by the throat rudely "No one is gonna find out. And the matter about why the plan didn't work is simply because I have something else in mind. Something much more terrifying" he announced.

It was, obviously, a lie, but if he didn't do it, those three would think he had been growing soft, and just the thought of that disgusted him. Besides, he was a smart lion, it wouldn't take long for him to cook up another plan to get rid of his brother.

"Believe me, by the time I'm finished, Mufasa is gonna wish I had dropped him into that gorge…"

**Author's Noite:** Hello everybody! Actually it's been a reeeeeeeeeealy long time since I posted any story here that wasn't my other one (The Heirs of Hope, which is, in fact, complete. If you'd like to read, just visit my page). This one I just thought recently while wondering possibilities, and having heard the story of Scar before I started to wonder the series of events that could take place if in that single moment a spark of goodness showed up in Scar, which would be what was left of Taka, to save his brother instead of killing him. No need to say it would be a big twist since the fundamental event and trigger of the movie _is_ Mufasa's death. Just to have that written, this is not a one-shot, meaning, it's not over, in fact, nowhere near over (yaaaaaaay. Or not...), but to have a general idea of what you're thinking of the story so far, just leave a review, I actually like any sorts of comments about my stories (except the offensive ones). Good reading, I'll be back before you know it


	2. Suspicion

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Lion King or any of its characters**

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**Chapter two: Suspicion**

Scar wandered around Pride Rock looking for a nice place to rest, and once he found himself a comfortable shadow, he decided to lay down for a little bit. He still didn't feel in the mood to do anything after losing the crown the day before because of a stupid conscience problem.

"Well, there you are…"

A young and slim lioness with narrow red eyes approached him.

"What do you want Zira?"

"Actually I have been looking for you. In fact, Sarabi's been looking for you as well"

"Oh, really…?" he replied, but in a tone that showed he couldn't care less.

"I think it has something to do with Mufasa. If you need to know, he's doing well and recovering inside the den, and Sarabi's attending to the kingdom's urgent matters for now"

"That's _great_ to hear…" he once more sarcastically answered.

"So I heard about what happened" she said taking a sit by his side "So… Why did you do it?"

"Excuse me?"

"Mufasa. I heard it was you who pulled him out of that gorge, so I'm asking, why did you do it?"

"Yeah… It was the right thing to do and all…" he answered, though with a clear mocking tone.

"Come on Scar… You know you're better than he is. You should be the king, not him"

"Yeah… That's a fair consolation"

"I'm just saying… If it was me… I'd have left him to the vultures. I thought you had the same kind of coldness in you. Was I wrong?"

Scar then gazed her in such a scary way it could even intimidate someone like Zira "Do you have a problem with my judgments…?"

"Uncle Scar!" Simba suddenly showed up, much to Scar's discontent.

"Oh, here comes my favorite nephew…" he commented, displeased, as Simba happily went to his side.

"Oh, hey aunt Zira" he greeted the lioness aside him.

"Don't call me that, boy" she rudely answered, making Simba shrink "O-Okay…"

"I'll be going now. I'll see you around Scar" she said taking her leave, abandoning Scar to the annoying job of dealing with the smiling midget.

"She's kinda scary…"

"You haven't seen anything…"

"So uncle, where were you? Mom was looking for you yesterday, but you left without saying a word"

"I had some business to attend, you know… Being in charge of the pride's leftover is not an easy job…"

"You're in charge of the pride's leftover?"

"Sure… That's why you see me lying around all day long, isn't it?"

Simba could only laugh from what he thought it was an attempt of his uncle of being charming "You're funny uncle Scar"

"Great to see I can still be of some amusement to you"

"Anyway, you should go to the edge of the rock and wait for her. She's away for now, dealing with some things while dad's recovering, but she probably wants to thank you too"

"Yeah… Everyone seems so eager to do so… I wish they wouldn't give themselves the trouble"

"Oh, come on uncle, you don't have to be so shy" Simba pointed out, climbing onto Scar's back and playing with his fluffy ear "Come on, I'll go with you. That way you don't have to be embarrassed"

"That's hardly the problem here…"

"Oh uncle, come on, come on, come on…"

"Why won't you simply go around and play somewhere else?"

"Oh, mom told me to stay at Pride Rock until dad recovers, so I thought we could spend sometime together"

"Oh… Cute…"

"Come on uncle Scar…" he jumped off his uncle's back "I know mom can be scary sometimes, but I'm sure she's just gonna thank you"

"If that's what it takes for you to go and play, I guess that leaves me no choice"

"Alright…" Simba smiled, leading the way, as Scar, very displeased, got up and followed him to the edge. Much for his luck, as they reached the sun again, they could see Sarabi had just arrived, followed by Zazu.

"There she is! Mom!" Simba called, happily reaching his mother and curling himself against her leg "How did it go?"

"Luckily most of the animals agreed to put on hold any matter that wasn't urgent to wait for your father's recovery"

"If you want, you know, I could help a little"

Sarabi laughed, knowing that he was way too young to be attending king's responsibilities yet, though his enthusiasm was rather cute "Thanks Simba" she replied amused, though her gaze turned serious at the sight of Scar approaching.

"How about you young master? Hopefully you're feeling alright" Zazu asked Simba.

"Just fine. Thanks for yesterday also Zazu. How's your head?"

"Still hurts. Funny, I don't remember exactly where I hit it" he said, throwing, however, an angry gaze towards Scar.

"Oh Zazu… A rock came loose and hit you in the head, that's all" Scar calmly answered, knowing that, in fact, he had been the one that had knocked down the hornbill.

"Yeah… Pretty convenient rock, don't you think?"

"Most definitely, since it was able to shut your beak for at least five seconds"

"Simba…" Sarabi turned her attention her son "I saw Nala down there just a moment ago. Why don't you go and play with her a little? I need to talk to your uncle for a second"

"Oh… Alright…" the cub answered, though that made him curious to hear what his mother had to say after all. However, in the current situation, disobeying wasn't a very smart choice.

"Zazu, could you show him the way?"

"Yes madam" Zazu bowed in reverence, taking his flight down the rock, Simba followed "Bye mom. See ya uncle Scar" he bid them farewell, rushing down the rocks after Zazu, leaving his mother and uncle alone.

"Such a sweet kid, isn't it?" Scar sarcastically commented, which turned Sarabi's gaze towards him rather unpleasant.

"Now, there are some things I'd like to make it clear with you"

"Should I be making a list?"

"I'm serious Scar. First off all, I'd like to thank you. I heard what you did for Mufasa, and I'm deeply grateful for that"

"I'm sure you are… If that was all…"

"I'm not done" she firmly stated, though couldn't actually intimidate him "I'm still not sure about what happened to Zazu when the stampede took place. Zazu is our family's most trustworthy steward, and I rather doubt he would remain still in such crisis"

"I already told you… A rock hit him. Perhaps you're so trusted stooge should be a bit brighter…"

"I hope that's the case, because if I find out you had anything to do with that…"

"Oh, that would just be awful of me…"

"I mean it Scar. I know how you feel about Mufasa, and Simba being the heir to the throne. I'm thankful for what you did, I truly am, but I'm warning you, if I ever find out you put my husband and my son in danger, I swear I'll make you pay"

"Wow… You're even taking after Mufasa's threats. I thought I'd be more appreciated after getting his royal tail out of danger, but I guess I was expecting too much. Now, was that all you had to say to me? 'Cause if you don't mind, I got some other matters to attend… Your highness…" he mocked, and took his leave under Sarabi's growling.

Once at the bottom of the rock, Scar still couldn't find any peace "Hey uncle Scar!" his nephew once again called, now followed by Nala.

"When is this kid ever gonna leave me be…?" he groused quietly.

"Did my mom already talked to you?"

"Sure… She just wanted to thank me and all…"

"Oh… That was quick"

"Indeed…"

"Are you not staying? I thought we could play together today"

"Unfortunately Simba, I got a lot of things to do away from here"

"Well… Can we come along?"

"If I recall, your mother told you to stay at Pride Rock until daddy is all better…?"

"Oh… Yeah…"

"You don't want to be getting in trouble with mommy now as well, do you?"

"I guess not…"

"Good lad. Now stay here and keep playing with your friend" he said, finally able to get rid of the cub.

"Uncle Scar. We'll go out to play after my dad recovers, won't we?"

Scar showed him a grin "I can barely wait for that…" was the last thing he said before walking away. Nala found his behavior rather strange.

"He's so weird, isn't he?"

"Yeah, but you'll get used to it"

"So why exactly doesn't your mother want you to go out before your dad recovers?"

"Beats me…"

"Think it has something to do with the stampede?"

"I don't know…"

"What happened anyway?"

"I don't really wanna talk about it Nala"

"Oh… Ok then. At least you're safe, that's what matters"

"Yeah… Thanks…"

"So come on. Since you can't leave Pride Rock, let's go up and throw some rocks"

"Alright" he agreed, refreshed, and followed his friend up again.

"You know, I really had you last time"

"That's because my throwing was a bit off. Today is different"

"Sure… You can say that after you've beaten me at least once"

**Author's note**: I hope you don't mind that I'm having some sort of blocking right now. Compared to my last story this one is having relatively short chapters. I don't know if people prefer this way or not. Anyway, this is probably because the story is starting now, once it gets going, I guess it'll flow easier and I can write a bit more for those of you who are hungry for words. I wrote this chapter actually with the intention of displaying one thing: apparently Simba likes his uncle more after he saved Mufasa, but Sarabi doesn't seem to share his enthusiasm. What will happen next? Find out in the next chapter...


	3. Truce

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Lion King or any of its characters**

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**Chapter three: Truce**

Rafiki removed some leaves off Mufasa's back getting a sore whisper out of his great friend.

"Relax my friend. Old injuries take time to heal, but they are also the ones that makes us appreciate life" the old baboon comforted him.

"Yes… But for the moment it still hurts"

"I know…" Rafiki replied, but apparently not caring about, he rapidly placed another leave on his back, this time getting a roar of pain out of Mufasa "There it is! Proof you're still alive!" the shaman remarked, seeming somehow amused and letting out a few laughs. Though Mufasa didn't find any of that funny, he didn't complain, simply because of his absolute trust in the old and wise baboon.

Sarabi got into the den, heading towards her husband with a smile in sign of his recovery "So how are you feeling?"

"Uh, it still hurts… But I'm sure it'll pass"

"So am I" she reassured him passionately.

"So how was it today?"

"The kingdom is quiet for now. There was a bit of a problem between the elephants and the giraffes this morning, but it was nothing serious"

"I see… I never thought you could handle these things so well"

"No matter what others think, I'm still the queen. Besides, handling your son while you're away is ten times more difficult than ruling any kingdom"

Mufasa giggled "I guess you're right…"

"Dad! Dad!" someone called from the entry of the den.

"Speaking of which…" Sarabi smiled at the sight of her son rushing into the den, and directly to his father's side.

"How's it going dad?"

"Hey son… And what have you been up lately?"

"Well, just looking around a bit, since, you know… Mom doesn't let me leave for the time"

"That's right. As soon as your father recovers you can go wherever you please, but for now, I want you to stay here. I can't watch both a kingdom and my son at the same time" Sarabi reminded him.

"Alright…" the young cub agreed, downhearted.

"Listen to your mother for the while, ok? I promise that when I get better I'll take you around the kingdom, and teach you a thing or two about pouncing"

"Really? Promise?"

"It's a promise"

"Alright!" a smile quickly enlightened the cub's face, making their parents satisfied.

"Now go around and play a little bit more. I'll be better in no time" Mufasa reassured, helping Simba get a move on towards the exit. As soon as the cub left, Mufasa turned his gaze towards his wife "So you're not letting him leave?"

"Yes…"

"Why?"

"I'm still worried. I'm too busy handling things while you're injured, and I don't like the idea of Simba roaming around alone when Scar's out there and you're in here"

"You're worried about Scar?"

"I don't like him Mufasa. You know what he's like. And I don't like the way he looks at our son"

"I understand what you're saying, but he did help me back there. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even be recovering here at all"

"I know… But I still don't trust him"

"Oh, come on Sarabi…" Rafiki joined their conversation "You know he was not always like that"

"He's right" Mufasa agreed "And despite all the troubles he has been causing lately, he's still my brother and Simba's uncle"

"I know… But until you get better, I want Simba where I can watch him"

"Fair enough. I just don't know how you get him to obey you"

"Are you doubting the queen's authority?" Sarabi jeered.

"Not at all your majesty" Mufasa followed, getting a laugh out of it too.

* * *

Scar kept on the elephant graveyard where he could think up his new plan without being disturbed… At least not by the Pridelanders… While Ed chew on one of the elephant bones, Shenzi kept sniffing around, and Banzai was apparently examining one of them.

"So you've been laying around here more than usual"

"That's because I miss you so much…" he sarcastically added to the hyena.

"And how's the king doing these days?" Shenzi asked in a mocking tone.

"Alive… To my great discontent"

"Says the one who pulled him out of that gorge…"

"You said something…?" Scar threateningly asked, making the hyena gulp in fear.

"So…" Banzai continued, not caring much about that "We're back to scraps after all. When I thought we were finally going to get something good out of this deal… You should have let me had one of those wildebeests"

"Are we going back to that again?" Shenzi complained.

"Will you idiots shut up…?" Scar demanded.

"Come on Scar, look on the bright side. You may not be king, but you still got us. You should be 'hyena' spirits" Banzai laughed out, although the others didn't know exactly where was the fun in such a joke, specially Scar.

"Yeah… I'm a lucky lion indeed…"

"There's one thing I don't understand. Mufasa is pretty beat down right now, I'm sure that you could take him if you wanted" Shenzi observed.

"You fools don't understand anything. The other lionesses wouldn't let me go near my brother in such state. And besides, I still need to handle that meddling little fur ball"

"You mean Mufasa's son?" she asked "Why not take him out now? Is not like his father is around at the moment, right?"

"I did think of that. But as it turns out, the mother is suspicious of me, so she won't let him out of her sight"

"Why don't you just sneak in and get both of them at once?"

"You don't understand. Having the king and his successor killed alongside under the lionesses' snouts would be too troublesome, and would raise a lot of unpleasant questions about the one assuming the throne. Everything has to look like and accident. A tragic and terrible accident…" he said with a grin, mimicking his lips using an antelope's skull.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Banzai inquired.

"For the moment I can't get neither of them away from Pride Rock, so there's no way around. But as it happens, I already have something of a plan in mind. Let's call it a truce for the time being, and as soon as Mufasa recovers, I'll have a little surprise awaiting him and his little fur ball…"

* * *

Simba and Nala were laid alongside atop the Pride Rock, gazing at the savannah. Though Simba had his belly up wearing an incredibly bored expression, Nala seemed to be paying attention to the scenery.

"I see…" she started "A spotted animal"

"Does it crawl?" Simba asked.

"No. But it has a really long neck"

"I'm sick of this" he complained, already tired of that game and rolling back up "I can't stand being at Pride Rock anymore"

"Didn't your mother tell you to stay?"

"I know… But I don't know why. Is not like she had any trouble with me going out before"

"Well, things are a little different now. You almost got yourself hurt"

"Oh, come on… Now that I think about it, I could probably have gotten out of that stampede by myself"

"You're really not gonna tell me what happened, will you?"

"I told you Nala, I don't wanna talk about it" Simba complained.

"But it's clearly troubling you. I mean, maybe it has something to do with why you're not allowed to leave"

"No it doesn't. And if you wanna know, I rather pretend it didn't happen"

"Why's that?"

"Nala!"

"Oh come on Simba. You keep lying around here all day long nagging because your mom won't let you out, but you also don't wanna play anything else, nor talk about what happened"

"It doesn't matter anymore, ok? Why do you care either way? It's not like you gotta stay with me"

"Well, if you rather be alone…"

"I didn't say that! Is just that you've been acting weird as well. Your mom didn't ground you so why don't you go out like everybody else?"

"Well… Is just that…"

"I'm fine, okay? You don't have to treat me like a child"

"Is not that!"

"I wish everyone would stop worrying so much about me"

"Well, you _are_ the future king…"

"That's right. I should be doing whatever I wanted. I never heard of a king being grounded before"

"Well, you're not grounded… At least I don't think so"

Simba gazed the savannah upon hearing his friend's words and widened a smile "Hey… You're right. No one said I was grounded"

"No Simba, I know what you're thinking"

"Come on, there are tons of ways we could get out without anyone noticing. All we'd have to do is come back before the sun sets"

"You're forgetting Zazu"

"Who cares about Zazu? It's not like we can't lose him. We've done it before"

"Also, you promised your mom"

"Yeah, right, like that's…"

"Simba, this is different!" his young friend cut him off "Your dad almost died… _You_ almost died" she gazed the ground, somehow sad "You're my friend… Almost losing your friend makes you value these things more. Makes you treasure having each other around. It made _me_ care about the time we spend together…" she gazed him the same sadly manner "I was scared I might never see you again, so…" she intended to keep going, but ended up not saying another word.

Simba, on the other hand, found himself blushing without exactly knowing the reason, but it also made him care once he realized why she was spending time with him stuck in Pride Rock when she could be playing around anywhere else "Alright… So we'll put the adventures on hold for now"

"Thanks…"

"Well, you'd need me around for that anyway"

"Is that right? Mr. 'laugh in the face of danger'?"

"Smartass. Besides, uncle Scar is right, mom would probably eat me alive if she found out. Also, my dad told me to listen to her too, and I don't think I wanna get him mad while he's hurt"

"That's new. You obeying the adults…? It's really impressive"

"Come on, it's my turn" he said taking a sit on the edge "I see… Something fast"

"How big is it…?"

**Author's note:** Another short chapter, at least for my standards, so it's important for me to know if people are comfortable with that or if I should be making them longer, for that, you can simply leave a review or send me a message. I spent sometime thinking about this last dialogue between Nala and Simba. I remember the movie after she found her, she already felt something just by seeing him alive, and seeing her expression when Scar announced his death I could only picture losing Simba was something that hit her pretty heavily. I just figured if he had ever made it out of that gorge and back to Pride Rock, she would start to 'appreciate' him more (yeah, exactly the way you're all thinking). So I gave it some thought and I found the final result was rather cute, I hope I can explore these situations a bit more as the story goes by. Anyway, that's it for the day, I would really appreciate if you could take your time to leave a review of any kind, as always...


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